Is there a way to utilize simple math operations for color correction?
Yes, you can use the Converter > Separate RGB and Converter > Combine RGB nodes to get access to each channel.

You get 3 streams of float values, on which you can do Converter > Math operations.

When you have build you node network, you can pack it into a Group node (CtrlG) and reuse this node in other projects (append or link from a library .blend or save the node to start-up .blend)